High-altitude Retinopathy

• Published in: American journal of ophthalmology Vol. 123; no. 3; pp. 418 - 420
• Main Authors: Lang, Gabriele E., Kuba, Gabriele B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.03.1997; Elsevier; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adult; Altitude Sickness - complications; Altitude Sickness - therapy; Aspirin - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Cell Count; Fluorescein Angiography; Fundus Oculi; Hematocrit; Hemodilution; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Ophthalmology; Pentoxifylline - therapeutic use; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Retinal Hemorrhage - etiology; Retinal Hemorrhage - therapy; Retinopathies; Scotoma - etiology; Scotoma - therapy; Vasodilator Agents - therapeutic use; Visual Acuity; Case study; Human; High altitude; Eye disease; Blood concentration; Retinopathy; Treatment; Etiology
• ISSN: 0002-9394; 1879-1891
• DOI: 10.1016/S0002-9394(14)70149-7

To report a patient with high-altitude retinopathy. A 30-year-old man with high-altitude retinopathy was examined and treated. After spending 2 weeks at an altitude of 7,000 meters and then descending to sea level, the patient's visual acuity was RE, 20/20 and LE, 20/50. Intraretinal hemorrhages in both eyes and a scotoma in the left eye were found. Blood cell count was normal, but hematocrit had increased to 53%. The patient was treated with isovolemic hemodilution, pentoxifylline, and aspirin, which reduced hematocrit to 41%. Visual acuity and visual field returned to normal, and intraretinal hemorrhages resolved. High-altitude hemoconcentration should be treated in patients with high-altitude retinopathy.